This invention relates to the discovery and asexual propagation of a new and distinct variety of grapevine, ‘Sugrathirtyeight’, as herein described and illustrated. The new variety was first hybridized by Michael Striem in Wasco, Kern County, Calif., the variety being originated by controlled hybridization.
The new variety ‘Sugrathirtyeight’ is characterized by producing oval berries with uniform red colored berry skin. The berries of ‘Sugrathirtyeight’ have medium sugar content and a neutral flavor.
The seed parent is the varietal selection ‘98127-111-153’ (unpatented) and the pollen parent is the varietal selection ‘94190-162-345’ (unpatented). The parent varieties were first crossed in May 2004 by Michael Striem. The date of first sowing was March 2005, and the date of first flowering was May 2006.
The new variety ‘Sugrathirtyeight’ was first asexually propagated in January 2007, in Wasco, Kern County, Calif., by Michael Striem using hardwood cuttings.
The new variety ‘Sugrathirtyeight’ differs from its seed parent ‘98127-111-153’(unpatented) in that it has red berries rather than green berries.
The new variety ‘Sugrathirtyeight’ resembles its pollen parent ‘94190-162-345’ (unpatented) in that both have red berries, but differs from its pollen parent in that harvest starts earlier for the new variety, usually about August 10 in California's San Joaquin Valley, compared to October 1st for the pollen parent, ‘94190-162-345.’
Harvest of the new variety starts about the same time as for the red grape cultivar ‘Crimson Seedless’ (unpatented), but the red color of the new variety develops more uniformly so that the harvest window can be shorter than ‘Crimson Seedless’ (20 days for the new variety vs 60 days for ‘Crimson Seedless’ in California's San Joaquin Valley). The new variety also has an oval berry shape compared to elongated for ‘Crimson Seedless’ and the berry diameter is larger than ‘Crimson Seedless’ at 23 mm for the new variety vs 18 mm for ‘Crimson Seedless’.
The new ‘Sugrathirtyeight’ variety has been shown to maintain its distinguishing characteristics through successive asexual propagations by, for example, cuttings.
Variations of the usual magnitude from the characteristics described herein may occur with changes in growing conditions, irrigation, fertilization, pruning, management and with climatic variation.